The purpose of this presentation is to make other professionals aware of the needs of protecting their own online presence. While recent events have only punished educators for making poor decisions with social media, it puts school districts in a tight situation. Should teachers hide their online activity because of nonexistent social media guidelines? Or risk losing their jobs and reputations by trying to stay connected on the most popular websites in the world? This keynote presentation will address these issues today as we discuss Teacher's Under Fire! Social Media 101.


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About the Presentation
Brenda Monica (Director of Curriculum and Technology), Travis Williams (Computer Technology Instructor), and Victoria Kozlek (Instructional Integration Specialist) are employees of Southern Columbia Area School District. All three presenters have a strong passion for educational technology in hopes of creating a love of learning in their own school district. Educational technology preaches the use of 21st century learning tools including social media websites. Educators are often encouraged to participate in social computing. The hope is that teachers will create an atmosphere of trust and individual accountability that extends learning outside the walls of a school. Yet too often the lines of professionalism and personal life are crossed on such websites. As their own district moved forward with incorporating the use of social media tools, one question was clear: How does a teacher promote 21st century skills while protecting their own professional reputation on a social media site? In order to educate and protect their own staff from falling vicitim to the teacher facebook fallout, they worked together to create this professional development unit.